Magneti Marelli has recently revealed that it was keen on making an expansion in the Indian automobile sector in the days to come. Talking about their plans in an exclusive interview, the Managing Director and Country Manager of Magneti Marelli, Saju Mookken said that the company, backed by the Fiat Group will introduce affordable FI technology for two-wheelers in India. In this aspect, Magneti Marelli is a premium provider for mobility solutions and has recently stepped its foot in the country.
There were quite some speculations about the company with which it will join hands to initiate its FI system in India. So, the debate was put to end as it has now been revealed that the Italian company will team up with Hero Motocorp to start its FI systems in India. The product is currently under the Research and Development phase and will be production-ready by early 2015. However, no further details were available either from the company or the head regarding this matter, as of now.
Hero Motocorp, on the other hand, has displayed its urge to launch a number of products in the running fiscal, as shown by the models revealed at the beginning of the year. Hastur, ZIR scooter and HX250R are some of the models from this brand, which will have the fuel-injection system once they are out. It might be possible that either one or all of these models would receive the FI system from Magneti Marelli.
Fuel injection is not yet so common in the Indian scenario, definitely not in the sub-20 cc segment. Only a couple of motorcycles and scooters have the lavishness of carrying the Fuel Injection system. The main reason for the non-availability of this technology is its high expenditure aspect. There are ample alternatives available in the market, which are cheaper than FI. However, more manufacturers might opt for it since it is proven that the efficiency is increased by the proper utilisation of this technique. In this aspect, Magneti Marelli will face severe competition from Bosch, who are planning to launch better and more affordable engine management system in the two-wheeler segment sometime soon.
